Stacking apparatus for card like items

ABSTRACT

STACKING APPARATUS FOR CARD LIKE ITEMS IS PROVIDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS INVENTION FOR USE IN CONJUNCTION WITH CARD HANDLING SYSTEMS. ACCORDING TO AN EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION, STACKING APPARATUS INCLUDING CONVEYOR MEANS AND STACKING CHAMBER MEANS IS PROVIDED WHEREIN SUCH CONVEYOR MEANS IS POSITIONED INTERMEDIATE A PATH OF INCOMING CARD LIKE ITEMS AND SAID STACKING CHAMBER MEANS. THE CONVEYOR MEANS IS ADAPTED TO BE DRIVEN AT A SPEED WHICH IS LESS THAN THE VELOCITY OF THE INCOMING CARD LIKE ITEMS PRESENTED THERETO, AND IN ADDITION, SAID CONVEYOR MEANS IS PROVIDED WITH PROJECTING FIN MEANS FIXEDLY MOUNTED THERETO SO AS TO FORM DISCRETE POCKETS THEREON. AS THUS PROVIDED, SAID CONVEYOR MEANS ACTS UPON AN INCOMING STREAM OF CARD LIKE ITEMS TO DIVIDE SUCH INCOMING CARD LIKE ITEMS INTO SMALL SUBGROUPS WHICH ARE EACH INSERTED AND CONVEYED TOWARD SAID STACKING CHAMBER MEANS IN ONE OF THE DISCRETE POCKETS FORMED ON SAID CONVEYOR MEANS. THUS, IN SPITE OF AN OVERLAPPING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOME OF THE CARD LIKE ITEMS PRESENT IN THE INCOMING STREAM OF CARD LIKE ITEMS, SMALL SUBGROUPS OF SAID CARD LIKE ITEMS ARE INDIVIDUALLY AND SEPARATELY CONVEYED TO SAID STACKING CHAMBER MEANS SO THAT ACCURATE AND ORDERLY STACKING MAY TAKE PLACE.

S p SHOICHIRO`YOSHIMURA &

STACKING APPARATUS FOR cm LIKE mms Fi'ed Apr-;11 30. 1969 2 Sheets-SheetI N VENTOR.

Shoichlro Yoshimuro ATTORNEYS p 1971 sHoc-RoYos-MuRA 3,606,311

STACKING APPARATUS FOR CARD LIKE ITEMS Filed April 30, 1969 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 4. 46 25 INVENTOR. Shoichiro Yoshimuro WZaWW 'UnitedStates Patent Oflice Patented Sept. 20, 1971 3,606,311 STACKINGAPPARATUS FOR 'CARD LIKE ITEMS Shoichiro Yoshimura, Tokyo, Japan,assignor to Nippon Electric Company, Limited, Tokyo, Japan Filed Apr.30, 1969, Ser. No. 820,456 Claims priority, application Japan, May 1,1968, 43/ 28,790 Int. Cl. B65h 29/68 U.S. Cl. 271--68 6 Claims ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE stacking apparatus for card like items is provided inaccordance with this invention for use in conjunction with card handlingsystems. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention,stacking apparatus including conveyor means and stacking chamber meansis provided wherein such conveyor means is positioned intermediate apath of incoming card like items and said stacking chamber means. Theconveyor means is adapted to be driven at a speed which is less than the'velocity of the incoming card like items presented thereto, and inaddition, said conveyor means is provided with projecting fin meansfixedly mounted thereto so as to form discrete pockets thereon. As thusprovided, said conveyor means acts upon an incoming stream of card likeitems to dvide such incoming card like items into small sub groups whichare each inserted and conveyed toward said stacking chamber means in oneof the discrete pockets formed on said conveyor means. Thus, in spite ofan overlappng relationship between some of the card like items presentin the incoming stream of card like items, small subgroups of said cardlike items are individually and separately conveyed to said stackingchamber means so that accurate and orderly stacking may take place.

This invention relates to card handlnig systems designed to act uponlarge quantities of card like items and more particularly to stackingapparatus therefor.

In card handling systems designed to expedite the handling of mail,information cards for a data processing system or related materials andhence act upon large quantities of envelopes, postcards or items ofsimilar nature, hereinafter referred to as card like items, incomingmail routes are generally established so that the various functions ofsaid card handling systems, such `as automatic facing, stamp aflixing orSorting may be readily accomplished. Such incoming mail routes usuallytake the form of a pair of horizontally disposed belt conveyors, whichmay be endless in nature, and are adapted to operate at the same speedto thus convey the card like items therebetween along a predeterminedpath. In -addition, in such card handling systems, stacking apparatus isoften provided at the end of the incoming mail routes so that the cardlike items acted upon are conveyed into a stacking chamber and stackedinto a bundle at high rates of speed upon the completion of the functioncarried out by the card handling system along that incoming mail route.

Although many forms of stacking apparatus for installation at the end ofan incoming mail route are presently available, the majority of suchforms of conventional stacking apparatus will only exhibit `a stabilizedstacking operation when the card like items provided thereto by theincoming mail route are not in an overlapping relationship. Thus, whenthe individual card like members present in the incoming mail route `areproperly spaced therealong so that they are received and acted uponsingly by said conventional stacking apparatus, stacking will beaccomplished in an arcuate manner at the required rate of speed.However, when such card like items are received by said conventionalstacking apparatus from an incoming mail route in an overlapping orpartially overlapping relationship, the operation of said conventionalstacking apparatus will not usually proceed in an accurate manner andthe stacked card like items provided thereby will not be appropriate forsubsequent handling in the most expeditious manner. Thus, as the cardlike items present in an incoming mail route will often be in anoverlapping relationship when large quantities of card like items arebeing processed by said card handling systems, the majority of forms ofstacking apparatus currently available for use in conventional cardhandling systems will periodically cause the operation thereof to beunsatisfactory.

Therefore, it is a principal object of this invention to providestacking apparatus for a card handling system, which stacking apparatuswill function in an accurate and stable manner regardless of whether ornot some of the card like items furnished thereto in a. continuousstream are in an overl apping relationship. Other objects and advantagesof the present invention will become clear from the following detaileddescription of an exemplary embodiment theerof, and the novel featureswill be particularly pointed out in conjuncton with the appended claims.

In accordance with this invention, stacking apparatus including conveyormeans and stacking chamber means is provided for a card handling system,said conveyor means being positioned intermediate a path of incomingcard like items and said stacking chamber means and adapted to be drivenat a velocity which is less than the velocity of the incoming card likeitems, in addition, projecting fin means are flxedly mounted on asurface of said conveyor means so as to form an acute angle therewith sothat a stream of incoming card like items received at said conveyormeans is broken up into small subgroups by said projecting fin meansregardless of any overlapping relationship therebetween and each of saidsmall subgroups is individually conveyed toward said stacking chambermeans in a space defined on said conveyor means between a surfacethereof and said projecting 'fin means, whereby said small subgroups areindividually and separately conveyed' to said stacking chamber meanswherein accurate, high speed stacking may then take place. The inventionwill be more clearly understood by reference to the following detaileddescription of an embodiment thereof in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. l is a plan view illustrative of conventional stacking apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a further showing of the conventional stacking apparatusdepicted in FIG. 1, wherein conditions which may cause irregularstacknig to take place are illustrated;

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating a form of the improper stacking whichmay take place in the conventional stacknig apparatus shown in FIG. 1,due to the conditions illustrated in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an exemplary embodiment of the stackingapparatus according to the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof,there is shown an exemplary form of conventional stacking apparatusoften found in presently relied upon card handling systems. As shown inFIG. l the conventional form of stacking apparatus illustrated thereincomprises first and second belt conveyor means 1 and 2, respectively,and a stacking chamber indicated generally at S. The first and secondbelt conveyor means 1 and 2 are disposed in a facing relatonship in themanner illustrated in FIG. 1 and a suflicient clearance 3 is providedbetween the facing surfaces thercof such that card like itemsrepresented by 4 and 5 may be conveyed therebetween. The first andsecond conveyor means 1 and may be conventional devices which take theform of "endless 'b'elts 'and each of said first and second -beltconveyor means 1 and 2 are adapted to be driven in the usual manner inthe direction indicated by the arrows A. In addition; the second beltconveyor means 2 is provided'with *roller mens 11 and 12 so that asurface portion 13 is leading edges of the card like items suppliedthereto by i! -"said first and second belt conveyor means 1 and 2, which-here"`serve in'the role of an incoming mail' route. More c jparticularly, as shall be seen below, each card like item conveyed to'the stacking chamber S is adapted to inter- 'sect a srface of thepreceding card like item already present in 'said stacking chamber S andbe driven down into -`-s'aid stacking chamber S, due to the frictionalengagement of the surface portion 13 of the second belt conveyor means2, until the leading edge thereof intersects the support plate means 6so that the card like items will be accurately stacked with all of theleading edges thereof aligned on the surface of the support plate means6. The pressure plate means 7 is slidably mounted on the support' platemeans 6 so that a major surface thereof is 'perpendicular to the surfaceof the support plate means 6. The biasing means 9 is interposed betweenthe pressure plate means 7 and the mounting portion 9' therefor so thatthe pressure plate means 7 continuously 'acts to maintain a bias on thestacked card like items present in the stacking chamber S in a directiontoward the surface portion 13 of the second belt conveyor means 2. Thebiasing means 9 has been illustrated in FIG. 1 as comprisng 'a helicalspring 9 but, as will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill inthe art, any of the well known class of devices usually used inconjunction with pressure plate means may be readily substitutedtherefor.

` 'belt conveyor'means 1 and 2 in the direction indicated by arrows A.As normal Operating conditions have here been 'assumed, the card likeitems 4 and '5 are conveyed by said first and second belt conveyor means1 and 2 in the spaced 7 'apart manner illustrated in FIG. 1 so that eachof the card 'like items 7-10 received in said stacking chamber S is'properly stacked therein before the next card like item being conveyedthereto is received thereby. When these v conditions obtain, an incomingcard like item 5 is appropriately spaced from the immediately precedingand succeeding card like items 10 and 4, respectively, and will be"conveyed by said first and second belt conveyor means 1 i and 2 towardsaid stacking chamber S until such incoming 'card like item S collidesat the leading edge thereof with a major surface portion of the cardlike member 10 which i 'preceded it, or no card like member preceded it,into collision'with the pressure plate means 7. When the lead- I ingedge of an incoming card like item 5 collides with a major surface ofthe card like item 10 which preceded it, the card like item 10 which isbiased against the surface 'portion 13 by the urging of the pressureplate means 7 will be displaced in a direction away from the surfaceportion 13 so that the frictional force which said incoming card likeitem 5 receives from the surface portion 13 of the second belt conveyormeans 2 and the surface of the card like item 10 will cause it to bpulled inward portion 13. The frictional engagement with surface por- 7The' stacking'chamber S as illustrated in FIG. 1, comprisesfsupportplate means 6, pressure plate means 7, 'biasing means 9. The supportplate means 6 may comi 'prise a' flat planar surface which is adapted toreceive the tion 13 of the second belt conveyor means 2 will therebycause the incoming card like item 5 to be conveyed downward into thestacking chamber S until the downward motion thereof is stopped by theengagement of the leading edge of said incoming card like member 5 withsaid support plate means '6. Thus, under these conditions, each of theincoming card like members will be received in said stacking chamber Sand accurately stacked therein with the leading edges of each of saidcard like members properly aligned with the surface of the support platemeans 6.

In the operation of the conventional stacking apparatus illustrated inFIG. l and explained above, it was initially assumed that the card likeitems being conveyed by the first and second belt conveyor means -1 and2 were clearly separated in the manner illustrated for the card likeitems 4 and 5 depicted in FIG. 1. If these conditions, however, do notuniformly obtain as often occurs in a mail route leading to the stackingchamber S, the edges of one or more of the card like items beingconveyed by the first and second belt conveyor means 1 and 2 may be inan overlapping relationship. This condition is shown in FIG. 2 whichillustrates the conventional stacking apparatus depicted in FIG. 1wherein the card like items 15-1;7 being conveyed by the first andsecond belt conveyor means 1 and 2 toward the stacking chamber S havetheir edges in an overlapping relationship. Under the conditionsillustrated in FIG. 2, as the card like item 1'6 is eifectively Wedgedbetween t'he two preceding card like items 14 and 15 and the card likeitem 17 is effectively wedged between two preceding card like items 16and 14, the surface portion 13 of the second belt conveyor means 2 willnot come into contact with either of the card like items 16 or 17. Thus,neither the card like item 16 or 17 is brought into engagement with 'thesurface portion 13 of the second belt conveyor means 2, neither of thecard like items -16 or 17 will receive the inward pulling force due to africtional engagement with the moving surface portion 13 and as a resultthereof, the leading edges of each of the card like items 16 and 17 willnot 'be made to abut and hence be brought into alignment with thesurface of the support plate means 6. Accordingly, when one or more ofthe card like items 15-17 are conveyed toward said stacking chamber Sunder the conditions illustrated in FIG. 2, wherein the edges thereofare in an overlapping relations'hip, the accurate stacking thereof willnot take place in the stacking chamber S because when the leading edgesof such card like items 1* 6 and 17 are not brought into alignment withthe surface of the support plate means 6, due to a frictional engagementwith the moving surface portion 13, a disarranged t'he overlappingrelationship between the card like items 15 17, as illustrated in FIG.2, is shown in FIG. 3. Thus, it will be appreciated that theconventional stacking apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 will not properlyfunction to accurately stack card like items received thereby should oneor more of such car-d like items be supplied thereto in an overlappingrelationship. r

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an exemplary embodiment of the stackingapparatus according to the present invention. As shown in FIG.- 4, theexemplary embodiment of the stacking apparatus according to the presentinvention comprises first and second belt conveyor means 18 and 19,first and second item conveying means 21- and 28, finned. conveyor means23- and a stacking chamber indicated generally as S'. T'he first andsecond belt conveyor means 18 and 19, as shown in FIG. 4, may take theform of conventional devices of the endless loop type and each of saidfirst and second belt conveyor means 18` and 19 is adapted to be drivenin the conventional manner at a velocity V in the direction indicated bythe arrows B. The first and second belt conveyor means 18 and 19` aredisposed in a facing relationship and a sufficient clearance 20 ismaintained therebetween so that an incoming mail route is establishedfor conveying card like items indicated at 22. The first belt conveyormeans 18, as illustrated in FIG. 4, extends a further distance towardthe stacking chamber S' than does the second belt conveyor means 19 andis formed by the rollers 46 and 47 into two portions wherein the firstportion 18a thereof is substantially parallel to the second beltconveyor means 19, while the second portion 18b thereof is drected alonga path indicated by the arrow D. The first item conveying means 21 ispostoned beneath the incoming mail route established in the clearance 20between the facing, spaced apart first and second belt conveyor means 18and 19. The first item conveying means 21 is disposed horizontally inthe same direction as the second belt conveyor means 19, but extendsfurther in a direction toward said finned conveyor means 23 than doessaid second belt conveyor means 19. The first item conveying means 21may take the form of a conventional fiat belt surface as indicated inFIG. 1 or alternatively may comprise roller conveyor means or similardevices, well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, which enableitems being conveyed thereon to be easily transported thereover.Furthermore, in embodiments of this invention wherein the first andsecond belt conveyor means are disposed at an inclined angle to thehorizontal plane, the first item, conveying means 21 may take the formof sliding board means or similar conveyor devices of this class. As thefirst item conveying means 21 is illustrated in FIG. 4` as a flat beltsurface, the first item conveying means 21 here would be continuouslydriven at a velocity equal to the velocity of the first and second beltconveyor means 18 and 19 in the direction indicated by the arrow B.Accordingly, it will be seen that card like items such as 22 beingconveyed in the incoming mail route established between the facingsurfaces of the first and second belt conveyor means 18 and '19' will besandwiched between the two facing surfaces of the first and second beltconveyor means 18 and 19 and be driven in a direction indicated by thearrows B in a manner such that their lower edges rest on thehorizontally driven surface of the first item conveying means 21. Thus,the first and second belt conveyor means 18 and 19 and the first itemconveying means 21 act in concert to drive the card like items 22present in the incoming mail route at a velocity V in the directionindicated by the arrows B.

The finned conveyor means 23 may take the form of a conventionalconveyor belt means of the endless type which has 'suitable fins orfiaps 2 4 affixed rigidly thereon so that the fins or fiaps 24 incombination with the surface of the finned conveyor means 23 formpockets 39. The fins or fiaps 24 rigidly mounted on the surface of thefinned conveyor means 23 'are affixed to the surface thereof so thatsuch fins '24 form an acute angle therewith. The acute angle thus formedis preferably in the range of tWenty to forty degrees (20-40) and isillustrated in FIG. 4 as approximately 25 degrees. The finned conveyormeans 23 is d-isposed as indicated in FIG. 4 to receive card like items22 and 33-38 from the incoming mail route established between the facingsurface portions of the first and second belt conveyor means 18 and 19,and is maintained due to the positionng of roller means 25-27 at apredetermined angle therewith which is here shown as approximatelyfifteen degrees (15 In addition, the finned conveyor means 23 is adaptedto be driven in the direction of the arrow C at a velocity Vz which issubstantially less than the velocity V at which the first and secondbelt conveyor means 18 and 19 and the first item conveying means 21 aredriven. The finned conveyor means '23 together with the fins 24 mountedthereon are, according to the embodiment of this invention shown in FIG.4, formed in a manner such that the width thereof is less than the widthof any of the incoming card like items 22 and 33-38. This is done, aswill be seen below,

so that the finned conveyor means 23 will have free passage through theslotted stacking chamber S' described below. A's aforesaid, the secondportion 18b of the first belt conveyor means 18 is extended so that saidfirst belt conveyor means 18 is in a partially overlapping relationshipwith the finned conveyor means 23. This overlapping relationship betweenthe second portion 18b of the first belt conveyor means 18 and thefinned conveyor means 23 is established, as shall become apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art hereinafter, to assure the smoothtransition of card like items 22 and 33-38 from the direction of theincoming mail route, indicated by the arrows B, toward the directionindicated by the arrow C.

The second item conveying means 28, which may take precisely the sameform as the first item conveying means 21, discussed above, is disposedbeneath the finned conveyor means '23 and is adapted to be driven in thecon ventional manner at a velocity which substantally exceeds thevelocity Vz of the finned conveyor means 23. As indicated in FIG. 4, thesecond item conveying means 28 is driven in the direction indicated bythe arrow D and constitutes a horizontally disposed belt surface. Thus,the edges of the incoming card like items 22 and 33-38 are adapted torest on the surface of the second item conveying means 28 and in theembodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 4, to be driven thereby.

The finned conveyor means 23, the second item conveying means 28 and thesecond portion 18b of the first belt conveyor means 18, as illustratedin the embodiment of this invention shown in FIG. 4, act in combinationto receive incoming card like items 22 and 33-38 from the incoming mailroute established between the facing surfaces of the first and secondbelt conveyor means 18 and 19 and to further convey such card like items22 and 33- 38 toward stacking chamber S' at a reduced velocity Vz, asdetermined by the velocity of the finned conveyor means 23. This occurs,as will be seen below, because incoming card like items 22 and 33-38,whose lower edges rest upon and `are here driven by the surface of thefirst item conveying means 21, and transferred in succession to thesurface of the second item conveying means 28. Due to the angle ofinclination of the direction D of the second item conveying means 28with respect to the direction B of the incoming mail route asestablished by the orientation of the first item conveying means 21 andthe first and second belt conveyor means 18 and -19 and fur- -ther, inthe embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 4, due tothe angle of inclination of the direction C of the finned conveyor means23 with respect to the direction D of the second item conveying means28; the card like items 22 and 33-38 present in said incoming mail routewill be broken into small subgroups of individual card like items andforced into the pockets 39 present on the finned conveyor means 23 dueto the frictional forces exerted on the edges thereof by the second itemconveying means 28 and this action will take place regardless of whetheror not such card like items 22 and 33-38 are individually spaced apartin the incoming mail route or in a partially overlapping relationship.Furthermore, since the velocity of the second item conveying means '28substantially exceeds the velocity Vz of finned belt conveyor means 23,the card like items 22 and 33-38 present in the incoming mail route arenot only broken into small subgroups which are inserted in the pockets39 on the finned conveyor means 23 but also such small subgroup's ofcard like items 22 and 33-38 are deeply inserted into said pockets 39due to the frictional force on the edges thereof as exerted by thesecond item conveying means 28 and the speed differential between saidsecond item conveying means 28 and said finned conveyor means 23. Inaddition, due to such speed diiferential and the inertia of the cardlike items 22 and 33-38 inserted into the pockets 39 of the finnedconveyor means 23, the leading edges of said card like items 22 and33-38 will collide with the bottom of the pockets 39 when insertedtherein and hence said leading edges thereof will become substantiallyeven in the pockets 39, as illustrated for the card like items 37 and38, before such card like items 22 and 33-38 reach the stacking chamberS'. Therefore, it will be seen that the stream of card like items 22 and33-38 conveyed in the incoming mail route established between the facingsurfaces of the first and second belt conveyor means '18 and 19 isbroken into small subgroups, regardless of whether or not said card likeitems are in a partially overlapping relationship in said incoming mailroute, such small subgroups are deeply placed in the pockets 39 presenton the finned conveyor means 23 and said card like items '22 and 33-38are conveyed in said pockets 39 by said finned conveyor means 23 towardthe stacking chamber S' at a velocity Vz.

The stacking chamber S' is disposed near the end of the finned conveyormeans 23 and acts to appropriately stack the card like items receivedthereby into a uniform bundle of card like items having a common-lypositioned edge aligned along a single surface. The stacking chamber S'as illustrated in FIG. 4 comprises a partially closed chamber includingsupport plate means 29, pressure plate means 30 and biasing means 31.The support plate means 29 may comprise, as illustrated in FIG. 4, aplate which includes a fiat planar surface portion and a curvilinear endportion provided with a rectangular slot 32 therein. The rectangularslot 32 is dimensioned and provided in the curvilinear portion of thesupport plate means 29 so that free passage of the finned conveyor means23 is assured and the removal of card like items from said finnedconveyor means 23 is accomplished by the co-action of the card likeitems, which as stated above have a greater width than said finnedconveyor means 23, and the section of the curvilinear portion of thesupport plate means 29 surrounding the rectangular slot '32. Thus, thesupport plate means 29 is adapted to receive the leading edges of thecard like items 22 and 33-38 supplied thereto by said finned conveyormeans 23 as the card like items contained in each pocket 39 of saidfinned conveyor means 23 are removed therefrom when said finned conveyormeans 23 passes through the rectangular slot 32 and upon such passageportions of the leading edges of the card like items contained in eachpocket 39 co-act with the segments of the support plate means 29surrounding said rectangular slot 32 so that said card like items 22 and33-38 are stopped and retained in the stacking chamber S' on the supportplate means 29. Therefore, it will be seen that the card like items 22and 33-38 contained in each pocket 39 of the finned conveyor means 23,are deposited in the stacking chamber S' so that the leading edges ofeach of said card like members 22 and 33-38 rest on and are aligned withthe surface of the support plate means 29.

The pressure plate means 30 is slidably mounted on the support platemeans 29 so that a major surface thereof is perpendicular to the surfaceof the support plate means 29 at the flat planar portion thereof. Thebiasing means 31 is interposed between the pressure plate means 30 andthe mounting portion 31' therefor so` that the pressure plate means 30continuously acts to maintain a bias on the stacked card like itemsalready present in the stacking chamber 'S' in a direction toward thefinned conveyor means 23. The biasing means 31 has been illustrated inFIG. 4 as comprising a helical spring 31; however, it will be obvious tothose of ordinary skill in the art that any of the well known class ofdevices usually used in conjunction with pressure plate means may besubstituted therefor. Thus, the card like items already present andstacked within the stacking chamber S' are maintained in a biasedcondition to insure the maintenance of the requisite stacking position.However, the pressure plate means 30, acting under the urging of thebiasing means 31, will not cause a rejection or the improper stacking ofnewly arrived card like items 22 and 33-38 because, as the :finnedconveyor means acts to convey card like items 22 and 33-38 toward thestacking chamber S', the tip end 44 of each of the fins 24 mounted onsaid finned conveyor means 23, will, upon the initial entrance of aparticular fin into the stacking chamber S' push back the card likemembers already present in the stacking chamber S' as maintained by thepressure plate means 31 so that newly arriving card like items such as40 and 4 1 may be readily accommodated therein. Accordingly, newlyarriving card like items are readily admitted to the stacking chamber S'and accurately stacked therein with their lead-ing edges aligned on thesurface of the support plate means 29.

In the operation of the embodment of the stacking apparatus according tothe present invention as illustrated in FIG. 4, card like items such as22 are conveyed in the mail route established in the clearance 20maintained between the first and second belt conveyor means 1'8 and 19with the edges of such card like items resting on the horizontallydisposed first item conveying means 21. The first and second beltconveyor means 1 8 and 19 and the first item conveying means 21 are eachdriven at a velocity V in the direction indicated by the arrows B andaccordingly each card like item such as 22 present in the incoming mailroute is conveyed in the direction indicated by the arrows B at avelocity V regardless of whether or not such card like items are in anoverlapping relationship. Accordingly, 'card like items such as 22 areconveyed by the first item conveying means 21 and the first and secondbelt conveyor means 18 and 19 toward the finned conveyor means 23 whichis angularly disposed, at an angle shown in FIG. 4 as approximatelyfifteen degrees (15 as indicated by the arrow C, to the direction oftravel, shown by the arrows B, of the card like items such as 22 presentin the incoming mail route. As the second belt conveyor means 19terminates prior to the first item conveying means 21 and the firstportion 18a of the first belt conveyor means 18, the card like itemssuch as 22 present in the incoming mail route will be received in aportion of the item conveying path oppos'ite to the finned conveyormeans 23. Thereafter, such card like items as illustrated by 22 will bereceived by the portion of the item conveying path opposte to the secondportion 1'8b of the first belt conveyor means 18 and will be transferredat the end portions thereof from the first item conveying means 21 tothe second item conveying means 28 in succession. As was stated above,the finned conveyor means 23 is driven in the direction indicated by thearrow C at a velocity Vz which is substantially less than the velocity Vat which the first and second belt conveyor means 18 and 19 and thefirst item conveying means 21 are driven, while the second itemconveying means 28 is driven in the direction indicated by the arrow Dat a velocity which substantially exceeds the velocity Vz of the &finnedconveyor means 23 and which may be similar to the velocity V Thus,incoming card like items 22 and 33-38 whose lower edges rest on and arehere driven in the direction indicated by the arrow D by frictionalforce between the lower edges of said card like items 22 and 33-38 andthe surface of the horizontally disposed second item conveying means 28are forced into the pockets 39 present on the finned conveyor means 23which is angularly disposed, as indicated by the arrow C, to said seconditem conveying means 2'8. Thus, regardless of whether or not some of thecard like items 22 and 33-38 Originally present in the incoming mailroute are in an overlapping or partially overlapping relationship, suchcard like items 22 and 33-38 will be forced into the pockets 39 presenton the finned conveyor means 23 and hence be divided into smallsubgroups formed of one or more card like items by the rigid fins 24affixed to said finned conveyor means 23. Accordingly, due to the speeddifierential which exists between said second item conveying means 28and the finned conveyor means 23, such small subgroups of card likeitems will be deeply inserted into each of the pockets 39 on the finnedconveyor means 23 and thereafter be conveyed in such pockets in thedirection indicated by the arrow C at a velocity V toward the stackingchamber S'. Furthermore, due to the speed differential between thesecond item conveying means 28 and the finned conveyor means 23, and theinertia of the card like items 22 and 33-38, the leading edges of eachof the card like items 22 and 33-38 inserted into a given one of thepockets 39 of the finned conveyor means 23 will be drawn even, as shownby card like items 37 and 38, with the pocket bottom before said givenpocket 39 approaches the stacking chamber S'. Therefore, it will be seenthat the card like items present in the incoming mail route are dividedinto small subgroups and conveyed in a direction and at a speeddetermined by said finned conveyor means 23 toward said stacking chamberS'.

As each pocket present on the finned conveyor means 23 reaches thevicinity of the roller means 26, the angular orientation of the fin 24mounted on said finned conveyor means 23 and forming that pocket ischanged with respect to the direction indicated by the arrow C since thedirection of the finned conveyor means 23 between the roller means 26and 27 is markedly different, as indicated in FIG. 4, :from thedirection of the finned conveyor means 23 between the roller means 25and 26. When this change in the angular orientation of a particular fin24 occurs, the tip end 44 of the fin 24 forming that pocket engages thesurface of a card like item such as 45 previously inserted irto thestacking chamber S' and thus appropriately stacked therein. The tip 44of the fin 24 thus brought into engagement with the surface of a cardlike item 45 previously inserted into the stacking chamber S' acts toovercome the bias of the pressure plate means 30 and thus providesappropriate space in the stacking chamber S' so that the card like itemor items associated with that pocket may be inserted into said stackingchamber S' without causing irregular stacking or other inaccuracies inthe stacking process. Thereafter, as that pocket 39 on the finnedconveyor means 23 proceeds downward between the roller means 26 and 27and through the rectangular cut out 32 in the support plate 32, theleading edges of the card like item or.items present in a given pocket39, which as aforesaid have a greater width than the finned conveyormeans 23, will not pass through the rectangular cut out 32 so that suchcard like item or items there present will be lifted out of said givenpocket 39 and retained in said stacking chamber S' with their leadingedge aligned with the surface of the support plate means 29. The cardlike items thus lifted out of a given pocket 39 on the finned conveyormeans 23 and retained in the stacking chamber S' with their leadingedges algned on the surface of the support plate means 29, are subjectedto the pressure of the pressure plate means 30 and hence accuratelystacked in said chamber S'. Thus, it will be seen that regardless ofwhether or not card li ke items to be stacked are present inthe incomingmail route in an overlapping relationship, such card like items will, inthe stacking apparatus according to the present inven- 'tion, be dividedinto small subg'oups containing only a small number of such card likeitems and thereafter said small subgroups of card like items areindividually conveyed to a stacking chamber so that stacking may beaccurately and rapidly accomplshed therein. Therefore, the stackingapparatus according to the present invention will act appropriately inspite of an overlapping relationship in the card like items suppliedthereto to accurately and rapidly stack such card like items in astacking chamber with the leading edges of such card like items neatlyaligned along a prescribed surface.

While this invention has been described in connection with an exemplaryembodinent thereof, it will be understood that many modifications andvariations of the foregoing teachings will be readily apparent tothoseof ordinary sk-ill in the art; and that this application is intended tocover any adaptations or variations thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. stacking apparatus -for card like items comprising:

belt conveyor means disposed to receive a stream of incoming card li-keitems, said belt conveyor means being adapted to be driven 'at avelocity which is less than the velocity of the stream of card likeitems adapted to be received thereby;

a plurality of projectng fin means fixedly mounted on said conveyingsurface of said belt conveyor means, each of said plurality of projectngfin means being fixedly mounted at predetermined intervals on saidconveying surface so as to form a selected acute angle therewith;

at least one additional conveyor means disposed beneath said beltconveyor means and adapted to be driven at a velocity substantallygreater than the velocity at which the belt conveyor means is adapted tobe driven, for assisting in the insertion of small subgroups of saidcard like items into spaces on said belt conveyor means defined by saidconveying surface of said belt conveyor means and said projectng finmeans mounted thereon, said at least one additional conveyor means beingadapted to support said card like items received by said belt conveyormeans and to frictionally drive said small subgroups of card like itemsinto said spaces in a manner so that the leading edges of each of thecard like items in a subgroup are substantially even in the spaceassociated therewith; and

stacking chamber means for stacking card like items received thereby in.a neat and orderly manner, said stacking chamber means being disposed inrelation to said belt conveyor means to receive successively thesubgroups of card like items inserted into said spaces on said beltconveyor means.

2. The stacking apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said stackingchamber means includes means to apply a pressure bias to the card likeitems stacked therein, said stacking chamber means being furtherdisposed in relation to said belt conveyor means so that dust prior tothe recept of a given subgroup of card 'like items inserted in a spaceon said belt conveyor means, the projectng Lfin means associated withsaid space is operative to substantially overcome said means to apply apressure bias whereby the card like items contained in said givensubgroup of card like items may be readily accommodated in said stackingchamber means.

3. The stacking apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said at least oneadditional conveyor means is angularly disposed to the direction ofconveyance of said stream of incoming card like items.

4. The stacking apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said at least oneadditional conveyor means is angularly disposed to the direction ofconveyance of said belt conveyor means whereby the insertion of smallsubgroups of said card like items-into spaces on said belt conveyormeans is assured.

5. 'The stacking apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said beltconveyor means and said plurality of projecting fin means aredimensional so that the widths thereof are less than that of the cardlike items adapted to be received thereby.

6. The stacking apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said stackingchamber means includes an apertured portion of appropriate dimensions toallow said belt conveyor means having said plurality of projectng finmeans fixedly mounted thereon to pass therethrough but of insuflicientdimensions to allow said subgroups inserted in said spaces on said beltconveyor means to pass therethrough, said stacking chamber means beingfurther disposed with respect to said belt conveyor means sothat saidbelt conveyor means passes through said apertured portion thereof,whereby, upon the passage of said belt conveyor means through saidapertured portion of said stacking chamber means, said subgroups of cardlike &606311 1 1 1 2 items inserted in each space thereon will beremoved from 3,479,932 11/ 1969 StaI 271-68 said spa'ces by saidapertured portion and retained in said 3,507,492 4/ 1970 Spencer 271-88stackng chamber means. V c i FOREIGN PATENTS' V v I References Cited 5434305 10/ 1967 Switzerland 271- 3 UNITED STATES PATENT S RICHARD E.AEGERTER, Primary Examiner' 759,57O 5/ 1904 Sturtevant 271-86 v v U.S.Cl. XR. 3,073,46o /1963 Riohert 271- 62B !71-86 r V

